FSC is advocating aggressively for the government to hire Cofans as park guards in Cofan territories.
The well-established FSC Park Guard Program is operating at a reduced level due to diminished funds. One area of hope: the government now pays for some park guard positions throughout the country. In the Cofan territories, at least, they are hiring only university students, not the Cofans already trained as park guards, thus hindering both the effectiveness of the program and the ability of a good number of Cofan to make a decent living while protecting their land and chosen way of life.
For the foreseeable future, it's clear the Park Guard Program, and its proven cadre of effective rangers, will depend in large part on the continued support of its U.S. fans to remain viable and effective.
Up Next - A New Reserve?
Just south of the Cofan community of Zabalo, there are 20,000 acres of pristine forests outside the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, and only nominally under Cofan control. FSC is in the middle of a surveying project here, a first step in bringing these additional 20,000 acres under official protection. Once again, FSC and the Cofan people are making conservation happen where it otherwise wouldn't.
GOODSEARCH: Giving through Shopping
Here's a fun way to support CFS through shopping: before making an online purchase, go to goodsearch.com and type in the name of the store from which you want to make a purchase. The site will tell you whether this store will make a contribution to your favorite cause and how much. The first time you use the site, you will have to choose a cause. Enter cofan.org and it will come up automatically in the future every time you make a purchase through the site. Click on the store's link from the goodsearch.com page and shop away! REI, for instance, will make a contribution of 2.5%.
FSC is advocating aggressively for the government to hire Cofans as park guards in Cofan territories.